


Picking Up the Pieces

by hopingforaword



Category: Degrassi the Next Generation
Genre: Alternate Universe - Everyone Lives/Nobody Dies, F/M, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-05-09
Updated: 2016-05-09
Packaged: 2018-06-07 09:13:38
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,109
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6797986
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hopingforaword/pseuds/hopingforaword
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Maya Matlin hasn't seen her boyfriend Cam since last night. Okay, maybe that's not that long, but before that she hadn't seen him for a week! She's thrilled for their lunch date, but when Cam doesn't show up, Maya gets worried and goes to find him. What she finds changes her and her relationship with Cam forever.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Bittersweet Symphony (1)

Maya burst out onto the front steps of Degrassi Community School, golden hair and freckles shining in the spring afternoon light, and her eyes glowing with the anticipation of her lunch date with Cam. She had seen Cam late the previous night, and received his video over text that morning, but that didn’t mean she didn’t miss him. Maya had a whole week of lost time, since Cam had gone back to Kapuskasing for spring break. She looked around and didn’t see Cam. It wasn’t like Cam to be late. 

Maya drifted over to the railing of the steps, pulling out her phone. As she did so, she saw two meal boxes, but no one guarding them.  _ Weird. _ She unlocked her phone. One new message. From Cam. Maya read it. She didn’t understand it. She couldn’t understand it. It didn’t make sense. 

“I’m not coming. Sorry. It’s over.”

Tears welled in her eyes and her heart starting racing. This wasn’t fair. They had just gotten each other back. Cam had apologized for flipping out on Zig and Katie had let him stay the night. And he had taken Hoot! He couldn’t just break up with her out of nowhere like this. He hadn’t even tried to talk to her.

Maya called Cam. He couldn’t do this to her. He couldn’t just leave.

He didn’t pick up. He couldn't do this to her. 

Maya called Cam’s billet mom. It was strange but she was desperate. Maybe Cam had gone home. If he was at home, Maya could talk to him. Make him see reason.

“He’s not with you? Last I talked to him he said he was on his way to Degrassi to meet you for lunch. Sorry sweetie.”

Maya muttered a thanks and hung up. Her heart seemed like it was trying to beat out of her chest all together, and a cold sweat crept over her body. No one knew where Cam was. She had to find him and fix things. 

“There’s no time to panic,” she whispered to herself, pulling a wrapped burger out of one of the meal boxes. It was still warm. The food had been there for five minutes, maybe ten. Cam wasn’t in Degrassi, not with Simpson watching over the school like a hawk. He might be on campus.

“The garden!” Maya screeched. People turned to stare at her but she hardly noticed. Cam was the only thing she could think about. 

She jumped the steps and ran around to the garden. It was empty. Cam had to be there. If he wasn’t there, Maya didn’t know where to look next. “Cam!” she called out to him in desperation, tears streaming down her face.

“Maya?” A voice came from the greenhouse, a tear-soaked voice. Maya dropped her backpack and ran into the greenhouse.

Maya stopped when she saw the glint of silver in Cam’s hand. “Cam?” she choked out, before she dropped to her knees and cried more, her tears dripping onto the greenhouse floor.

The knife clattered to the floor, and a warm pair of arms wrapped themselves around Maya. “Maya. Maya don’t cry,” Cam’s voice pleaded. She turned around to face him, but she couldn’t stop, and as soon as Cam saw Maya crying, his eyes filled with tears. They sat there, holding onto each other and crying.

When Maya was done crying, she wiped her eyes with the back of her hand and pushed Cam off of her. “Why?” she almost yelled, “What did I do wrong?”

“It’s not about you.” Compared to Maya’s enraged, desperate shouts, Cam’s voice was quiet and calm. “It isn’t your fault. There’s something wrong with me. I’m sad and tired all the time. And…”

“And what?” Maya was still shouting, but she didn’t care. She needed to know why Cam had done this. Why, if she had been a few seconds later, Campbell Saunders would no longer be alive.

Cam stood up turned away from her. “Zig. Zig told me if I cared about you, I would just leave you alone. And he’s right. You’d be better off without me. Everyone would.”

Maya got to her feet and turned Cam around to face her. “Cam that’s ridiculous. You are one of the best things that ever happened to me. I hate people. I hate school. Some mornings, when I feel like faking sick and staying home, you are what helps me wake up and come to school. You make me feel loved and pretty, things I rarely feel otherwise. I don’t fit in Cam, and you don’t care. I wouldn’t stay at Degrassi if you weren’t here.” Maya pulled him in so their foreheads were resting on each other and she wrapped her fingers in his hair.

Cam swallowed hard. He didn’t say anything for a few minutes. “I want to get help,” he whispered finally. “I don’t want to feel this way anymore.”

“And I want to help Cam. I’ve seen you happy, and you’re really great and sweet. You can do this. You can beat it.”

“Whatever it takes, right?” he said, offering Maya his hand. She took it.

“Whatever it takes.” She kissed his cheek, and they walked out of the greenhouse, hand in hand.


	2. Bittersweet Symphony (2)

During lunch Maya called her mom, who agreed to pick her up from school. “I can’t force you to deal after that. What do you want to do?”

Maya looked at Cam, who was staring into the depths of his ice cream sundae. “Can you take Cam and me to his billet house?”

“Okay sweetie. I’ll pick the two of you up in a half hour.” The line clicked, and Maya put her phone on the table. With her now empty hand she grabbed Cam’s. He looked up at her and smiled.

“How’d I get so lucky?”

Maya smiled and looked down at her feet. “I could ask the same question.”

The smile faded from Cam’s face and he looked back down into his sundae. “You didn’t get lucky. You got a burden. All I’m going to do is drag you down Maya. You don’t need a dead weight.” He paused, then said in a rush, “You know, I get if you want to leave. I won’t hold it against you and I won’t do anything drastic. I’ll go back to my billet home, or maybe back to Kapuskasing or--”

Maya leaned forward and cut him off with a kiss. She sat back down and smiled. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. You need help Cam, and I’m going to help you get it.”

 

They walked back to school and Cam, who was still suspended, sat down on the steps while Maya waited inside for her mother to pick her up. Mrs. Matlin got out of her car and walked up the steps, leaning on her forearm crutches. Cam opened the door for her, and she smiled sadly at him.

Cam waited on the steps while Mrs. Matlin signed Maya out for the rest of the day. Maya burst again through the front door and practically tackled Cam in a hug.

“Careful Maya,” warned Mrs. Matlin, “If he falls down the stairs…” Mrs. Matlin trailed off at the look in her daughter’s eyes. 

Mrs. Matlin got into the driver’s seat and Cam and Maya climbed into the backseat.

“You’re very lucky Cam. Maya always grumbled that she had to sit in the middle seat when Katie and Marisol were in the car, but she’s clearly willing to do it for you.” Mrs. Matlin and Cam laughed while Maya scowled. 

Maya leaned on Cam the entire ride to Cam’s billet home. He rest his arm on her shoulders and rubbed her back. Mrs. Matlin checked on them periodically using the rear view mirror. She was worried about Maya. Cam was older than her, which Mrs. Matlin would have worried about if Cam wasn’t clearly a total sweetheart. No, it wasn’t the age. Mrs. Matlin knew Maya could be very fragile, and she could tell Maya trusted Cam to be strong, but Cam was clearly not strong enough for the both of them. 

They arrived at Cam’s billet home and his billet mom threw the door open as soon as Cam took a step out of the car. “Cam!” she wailed. She released him and said, “You're on the first train tonight to Kapuskasing. You're spending the rest of your suspension with your family and when you come back you're going to therapy every week. Don't even try to argue.”

“Mom?” Maya asked quietly, her and Mrs. Matlin still standing on the curb, “Can I go with him?”

“Maya you just had spring break and you have school…” She stopped at the look on Maya’s face. “Of course. I'll tell principal Simpson.”

“He needs me mom,” Maya whispered, leaning into her mother. “He doesn't want to say it, but he needs me.”

Mrs. Matlin realized she had been wrong about her younger daughter. Maya wasn't eight anymore, pouting because Katie and Marisol were going to a middle school party without her. She wasn't eleven, arguing that she should be able to go on dates since Marisol was. She was fourteen, strong, smart, and fiercely protective of her boyfriend. Mrs. Matlin smiled and nodded. “Well of course we need to check with Mrs. Saunders-”

“Oh she assumed Maya would be coming along. She's excited to meet you.” Cam’s billet mom smiled at her. “Let's get you packed up Cam,” she said, ruffling his hair. 

“I'll help!” And before either mom could say anything, Maya and Cam were sprinting up the stairs to Cam’s room. 

They slammed the door shut and Cam hurriedly threw a random assortment of clothes into a duffle bag. Within three minutes he was as packed as he felt he needed to be. He flopped down on the bed, and Maya laid next to him. Cam brushed the hair out of Maya's eyes and smiled at her. Maya smiled back, but stopped smiling when Cam’s face dropped. “What's wrong?”

“Hockey. I'm going to miss practices.” He turned into his back, hand over his eyes. 

“I thought you couldn't go when you were suspended.”

Cam turned back towards her and broke into a grin. “No hockey, no school,” he began. 

“I'll get homework from Tris and he can ask someone in your grade for yours,” Maya added. 

“Just a week of you, me, and Kapuskasing.” Cam smiled with the words. 

“You know what the best way to start a week to ourselves is?” Maya asked. But she didn't give him time to answer as she leaned forward to kiss him. Cam smiled and closed his eyes, leaning forward slightly until his lips met Maya’s. 

They’d barely been kissing a second when Mrs. Matlin called up the stairs, “It’s been more than enough time to pack a week bag.” Maya and Cam pulled back and grinned sheepishly at each other before standing up and racing down the stairs, Cam’s duffel bag slung over his shoulder.

“Ready to go Cam?” his billet mom asked. He nodded.

“You have my ticket?”

She handed a ticket to Cam and another to Maya. “Have fun. I’ll see you in a week.” She hugged him and walked them to the door. 

Maya and Cam climbed into the back seat of the minivan as Mrs. Matlin started it. They drove in almost silence to the Matlins’ house, Maya leaning on Cam and Cam resting his fingers in Maya’s hair.

“I’ll wait in the car. You have five minutes,” Mrs. Matlin said, pulling to a stop in front of their house. “Five minutes!” she called after her daughter as Maya and Cam sprang out of the car.

Cam stood awkwardly in the doorway of Maya’s bedroom while she flew around her room, packing a bag. She stood up after about two minutes, bag filled to bursting with clothes. 

“How much could you possibly need that many clothes?” 

“Who knows what’ll happen in a week?”

“Right, you might need to clothe your identical clone...three times.”

Maya bumped Cam with her shoulder but laughed nonetheless as they walked back out to the car.

The ride to the train station was as uneventful as the first two, but when Maya stepped out of the car she gave her mom a kiss on the cheek. “See you in five days!”

“Maya,” Mrs. Matlin said, grabbing her arm, “Be careful.”

“Don’t worry about me mom. You can trust me.”

_ I know,  _ Mrs. Matlin thought as she drove away. Maya and Cam watched the minivan leave before turning around to walk into the train station, hand in hand.

**Author's Note:**

> So I'm definitely working on expanding this as far as possible (maybe even following Maya to graduation?) which means I will have to deal with some things, like the arrival of Miles Hollingsworth at Degrassi, but I'm sure I'll figure it out. (Triles sounds like a good solution to that, no?)
> 
> Contact me at hopingforaword.tumblr.com with prompts/ideas/comments. Thanks for reading!


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